Garbage can



March 1935. P. PENCOVIC 1,995,779

GARBAGE CAN Filed July 10, 1934 INVENTOR. PERRY PE/vcov/c BY W M@ 2 40 4 ATTORNE Patented Mar. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,995,779 I I GARBAGE CAN 1 'Perry PencOVic San Francisco, Calif. Application July 10, 1934, Serial No. 734,494 '8 Claims. (01. 220-47 The present invention relates to improvements in garbage cans and has particular reference to those garbage cansinto which garbage is dis charged through a chute as in cases, for instance, in which the garbage can is usedin connection with apartment houses several stories high.

Theprincipal object of the invention is to pro-.

vide a convenient means for lifting the cover and for holding the same in lifted position while an operator removes the garbage can for emptying the contents thereof into a truck or other garbage receiving vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means of the character described that is simple, easily installed on an .existing garbage can chute at small cost, easily operated and arranged in such a manner that it will last indefinitely.

A further object of the present invention is to provide certain structural improvements and advancements. in connection with a garbage can cover lifting device. 1

Further objects. and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 showsa side elevation of a garbage can and a chute for the same having my device attached thereto, the cover being in can closing position,

Figure 2 shows the same combination with the cover raised,

Figure 3 a front elevation of the cover raising mechanism,

Figure 4 a plan view of the same as seen from line 4-4of Figure 1,

Figure 5 a detail view in plan of a modified form of supporting ring for a lever mechanism and Figure 6 a perspective detail view of a modified form of link connection.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims attached hereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail: The garbage can 1 is of conventional construction and is provided with a cover 2 having a flange 3 fitting around the upper rim of the garbage can and a neck 4 which is slidable on the chute 5 through which garbage may be deposited into the can. The chute, as appears from Figure 2, does not extend into the can but stops short of the same so that when the cover is lifted the can may be removed'for dumping the contents thereof into a garbage carrying vehicle.

For lifting the cover I provide a lever mechanism comprising a h0rse-shoe lever 6 pivoted relative to the chute as at 7 so that its legs 8 straddle the chute and having links 9 connecting the free ends of the legs with straps 10 proecting from the neck 4 of the garbage can cover. The links are pivoted to the lever as at 11 and to the straps as at 12.

For supporting the lever I provide a band 13 which may be clamped upon the chute by means of a bolt 14 passing through registering flanges 15 and I secure, preferably by means of rivets 15, two tongues 16 to the band, the tongues being made to extend in substantially parallel relation and to receive the pivots 7 off-center relative to a diametrical plane passing through the pivots 12. The links 9 are pivoted to the legs 8 of the lever so as to ride along the outside of the legs and are sufficiently long to swing past the pivots '7 when the free end of the lever 6 is depressed as in Figure 2. The lever itself is bent so that the legs 8 normally have a substantially horizontal position and are swung past the centerline of the pivots '7 and 12, as shown in Figure 2, when the free end of the lever 6 is pulled downward to its end position.

The straps 10 are riveted as at 10 to the neck 4 of the can cover and have bends 17 for clearing a bead 18 provided at the upper end of the neck 4 and also for insuring proper positioning of the links relative to the lever.

A modified form of lever supporting band is illustrated in Figure 5 in which the band is made in two sections 19 and 20, the former being somewhat more than semi-circular and having the tongues 16 projecting therefrom while the latter is complementary to the former and adapted to be fastened thereto by means of bolts 21 passing through registering flanges of the two sections.

A further modification is shown in Figure 6 for securing the straps 10 to the neck 4 of the can cover. In the form shown in Figure 1 the strap 10 is riveted to the neck. Where it is desired to dispense with the riveting operation the form shown in Figure 6 may be used in which each 10 is made of a length equal to the length of the neck and is formed with an upper flange 22 fitting over the bead 18 of the neck and with a lower flange 23 fitting against the conical portion of the can cover while a band 24 is made to encircle the neck and the two straps thus positioned for holding the straps to the neck. The band 25 is held in position by bolts passing through registering flanges 25.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. For lifting the cover the operator merely depresses the horse-shoe lever 6 and moves the same from the position shown in Figure 1 to that in Figure 2. Through the link mechanism the cover will be lifted to clear the can and the cover will be locked in lifted position because the links 9 are swung past center. The can may now be easily removed and emptied and replaced whereupon an upward movement of the lever 6 will cause the cover to automatically drop back into position.

It will be noted that my lever mechanism permanently secures the garbage can lid to the chute and thereby improves sanitary conditions. Where no such lever mechanism or other equivalent structure is provided it frequently happens that the operator fails to return the lid so as to fully cover the can or in some cases fails to return the lid altogether. Where my mechanism is employed, the lid is positively locked in its inactive position and when released it automatically slides back into active position so as to fully cover the can, without any effort on the part of the operator.

I claim 1. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel slidable on the chute and means secured on the chute for lifting the cover.

2. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel slidable on the chute, a lever pivoted relative to the chute and a link connecting the lever and the cover for raising the latter when the lever is operated.

3. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel slidable on the chute, a horse-shoe lever pivoted relative to the chute so as to straddle the same and links connecting the legs of the lever and the cover for uniformly raising the same when the lever is operated.

4. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, 9. cover for the vessel slidable on the chute, a horse-shoe lever pivoted off-center relative to the chute so as to straddle the same and links connecting the legs of the lever and the cover for uniformly raising the same when the lever is operated.

5. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel slidable on the chute, a horse-shoe lever pivoted off-center relative to the chute so as to straddle the same and links connecting the legs of the lever and the cover for uniformly raising the same when the lever is operated, the lever and the links being dimensioned and positioned to cause the links to pass the lever pivot for locking the cover in its raised position.

6. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel having a neck slidable on the chute, ears projecting from the neck at diametrically opposed points, a ring on the chute having tongues projecting therefrom, a horse-shoe lever pivoted in the tongues with limited freedom of swinging motion and links connecting the free ends of the lever and the ears for moving the cover when the lever is operated.

'7. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel having a neck slidable on the chute, ears projecting from the neck at diametrically opposed points, a ring on the chute having tongues projecting therefrom, a horse-shoe lever pivoted in the tongues with limited freedom of swinging motion and links connecting the free ends of the lever and the ears for moving the cover when the lever is operated, the links being dimensioned relative to the lever to cause the links to move past the lever pivots when the cover is raised to its uppermost position for automatically locking the cover in that position.

8. In combination, a vessel, a chute above the vessel, a cover for the vessel slidable on the chute and means for permanently securing the cover to the chute with freedom of movement between active and inactive position whereby removal of the cover is prevented and the device is rendered more sanitary.

PERRY PENCOVIC. 

